milo bloom

I have to say that you're missing out by not watching Clone Wars. I'm still working through the series and it's a lot of fun. They manage to make Senator Jar Jar Binks an honestly amusing character. Not to mention giving Anakin some actual depth and dimension.

Avatar was also a fantastic show, if this is the pedigree of the show runners then I think Rebels is going to really knock our socks off.

hanshotfirst1138

If the OOT ever comes out properly, I'll consider dipping back into the Star Wars universe, but until then, my time will be spent elsewhere. Open wound .

JimRochester

I would as well. Unlike a lot of you on the board, I'm not a fanboy of Star Wars. I saw SW in 1977 in the theaters and liked it but was always more of a Star Trek guy. When they started to be re-released 15 - 20 years ago, and then the prequels, I took my son. Although I didn't care for the movies or what they had done to them, I enjoyed the father/son experience. I had the LD for years and that is what I would watch. If they ever do re-release the OOT I'd pick them up just to show my support for how it should have been done in the first place.

shadokitty

I recently bought the Complete Saga BD set and so far I am enjoying it. Up to Empire Strikes Back with audio commentary right now.

milo bloom

It is a decent set, but like the 2004 DVD set, it just feels like it should have been out a few years before.

bunkaroo

Well I guess 5 years into the format was an improvement over 7 years into the format.

joltman

They had to release the Blu-ray in 2011 to keep up the 'new version every 7 years' (SE theatrical: 1997, DVD: 2004, Blu-ray: 2011)

Jay G.

An article discussing the likelyhood of Disney releasing the unaltered original trilogy:
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2014/...-wars-we-want/

Basically, the article is just rehashing all the old points and reaches the conclusion that the hold up is likely the distribution deal with Fox.

hanshotfirst1138

On the distribution end maybe, but of course there's still the question of the restoration itself. Obviously, what materials they have or don't have, what has or hasn't been restored so far, and so forth. But it sounds like this is basically more of the same, and we're simply speculating in circles until there's any official confirmation of anything. I'm reluctant to get my hopes up, and that article makes it sound like the likelihood is low, low, low. Technically feasible with Lucas out of the picture at last, but it sounds like legal tangle is formidable.

HellTrack

I'm still trying to track down the special releases from a few years ago, at a decent price, that had the original versions as "bonus" features. Non anamorphic, sure, but at least they're the proper versions.

Michael Corvin

So nothing is planned. Kinda disheartening.

hanshotfirst1138

Hardly surprising. Not much new info, just the same stuff we've been speculating in circles about since Disney bought the franchise. I still think hell will freeze over before the the OOT gets remastered in 4K (or more) like it deserves, but I'd love nothing better than to be wrong.

mhg83

This is what makes the OOT fans insane. Bitches and moans for years of not getting the OOT. Lucas actually release the version but they still bitch and moan. "But it's not good enough' It cries of elitism. I bet when the OOT releases on BR they'll have new reasons to bitch and moan.

Ringmaster

How do you figure? After the OOT, there's nothing else so anyone bitching after that is small potatoes. The elitist comment doesn't make sense either because the " special editions" were created from an elitist position I boycotted the blu ray release because of the changes but hey, if you like Hayden Christianson creeping you out at the end of ROTJ then that's your prerogative.

Paul_SD

The bitching and moaning was for the original versions of the films to be released in fashion that was at least baseline for the technology at the time.
That meant, at the very least, being anamorphic.

Fox is currently releasing DVD-Rs through its own archive-like program. Many of these titles feature smeary, standard def era masters, pan and scan, and 4:3 letterbox. Should I as a film buff be thrilled Fox is finally releasing these titles to dvd for me to buy, or do I have cause to feel insulted that they believe this is the kind of effort that justifies someone like me parting with my hard earned money?

PhantomStranger

While it's not an official release, there are sources of newly remastered video for the unaltered Original Trilogy. It apparently looks quite good and far better than the SD versions we got from Lucas.

hanshotfirst1138

The non-anamorphic versions which weren't up to industry standard from laserdisc masters? Nope, sorry, not acceptable. If they didn't want to do it correctly, they shouldn't have done it at all. If direct-to-video pornography and Asylum movies can be anamorphic, the most popular and influential series of films ever made can be too. This was worse than not getting it at all. Caligula is anamorphic. Hillside Cannibals is anamorphic. They weren't even up to technical standards of 1999, much less the year they were released. And they released precisely because they wanted to say "Well, we released them and no one was happy." The company that brought us THX calibration isn't stupid, they know. If Lucas really wanted to rewrite history in his Orwellian way, then he should've stuck to his guns and not released it at all. I'd still have hated that and been campaigning for the OOT to be released, but then he'd at least have stuck to his guns. Doing it half-assed was worse than not doing it at all. This was the final insult.

GoldenJCJ

I didn't read the article and frankly, haven't really been keeping up on curren news (or lack thereof) of the OOT and I realize there seem to be legal issues holding up any new release but it would be a MASSIVE lost opportunity not to release the OOT in time for the new Star Wars film in a couple years.

I have faith by that time any issues will magically be cleared up and the OOT will finally be released. If it's not released by the then I doubt it will ever be released.

Michael Corvin

For that to happen I'd assume they'd already have to be working on it. With the constant mention of how deteriorated the negatives are it sounds like an intensive job, especially to be done right.

BuckNaked2k

But the rights holder does not want it to be released. That's the roadblock.

hanshotfirst1138

Lucas used to be the roadblock, in his desperation to rewrite history. I don't think that Fox doesn't want the OOT released, I just think that as the most profitable film franchise in the world, they probably aren't very keen on sharing the profits.

stvn1974

I am going to go to the store early in the morning to pick up my copy of the original theatrical releases of Star Wars. That way I have time to watch all three before the game 7 of the World Series starts where the Chicago Cubs win it.

Shannon Nutt

By the time FOX and Disney straighten this out - if they ever do - Blu-ray will be a dead format. They'll be digital downloads only.

hanshotfirst1138

It's a good thing Lucas is out of the picture, because even he did consent to a restoration, which he never would, it'd probably be at best 1080p which wouldn't be much use in the next generation. This needs a 4K+ restoration to properly archive it for all time, and ideally, someone should make a new negative off of that. Anyway, as for the above-mentioned about Blu being out of the picture by the time this happens, which it won't anyway. The more optimistic way of looking at that is that it means that Fox and Disney should be willing to out aside their differences and strike the iron is hot-the OOT would be the perfect way to win back many old fans and the mania will be at an all-time high with the Abrams movie coming out-but it's still probably unlikely.

rocket1312

There is some AMAZING stuff going on in the fan community. Anyone with an interest in the OOT and the technical nitty gritty as it relates to its preservation/restoration should head over to originaltrilogy.com and have a read. Like any board, there's a lot of crap, but if you're willing to wade through it, there are some incredible rabbit holes to discover and explore.

This line of thinking has never made sense to me. Fox has always had to share the Star Wars profits. Fox doesn't own the films, just the distribution rights. Lucasfilm always got their cut and still would if there was a new release. The only difference is that Lucasfilm is now under the Disney banner. I get that there's probably a lot of petty corporate politics in play, but from Fox's point of view, why wouldn't they want to squeeze every dime they can out of the franchise while they still have the chance?